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Mitre shears buying guide: angles, thickness, blades

Updated: October 2026

You have PVC bead or thin moulding, and the amazon.co.uk titles all seem to offer the same 45° to 135° tool. This mitre shears buying guide is the choice you make before you compare rows. The twelve listings in our [mitre shears comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/mitre-shears) mix a try-square Knipex, a 45° Xpert, click stops, and sliders. Peter F. read those amazon.co.uk listings and public UK guides on 22 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Picks are on [best mitre shears UK](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/mitre-shears/sub/mitre-shears-best), the squeeze is [how to use mitre shears](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/mitre-shears/sub/mitre-shears-how-to-cut), and [mitre shears vs a mitre box](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/mitre-shears/sub/mitre-shears-vs-mitre-box) is where a saw takes over.

You have PVC bead or thin moulding, and the amazon.co.uk titles all seem to offer the same 45° to 135° tool. This mitre shears buying guide is the choice you make before you compare rows.

Our top picks

Knipex KNIPEX 94 35 215 mitre shears

Best overall

Knipex KNIPEX 94 35 215 mitre shears
9.4/10about £66.60
View offer
Xpert Xpert GKT03104 SK5 mitre shears

Best value

Xpert Xpert GKT03104 SK5 mitre shears
9.2/10about £15.90
View offer
O'Shine O'Shine OS003 mitre shears

Alternative

O'Shine O'Shine OS003 mitre shears
9.2/10about £35.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three layouts, not one 45-to-135 tool
  2. 2.Thickness and the claims that clash
  3. 3.Blades you can replace
  4. 4.Which layout for which job

Three layouts, not one 45-to-135 tool

The words multi-angle do not tell you which fence will arrive. The Knipex 94 35 215, at about £66.60 with 4.6 from 259 reviews, is a 45° try square with marks at 60°, 75°, and 90°. A square corner is two 45° cuts. The Xpert GKT03104, at about £15.90 with 4.5 from 888 reviews, states angles up to 45°. It is the wrong tool when the return you measured needs 120° or 135°. O'Shine OS003, at about £35.99, uses click stops, and reviews say the fence can walk. Use a 45° to 135° slider, such as the GARTOL HD-3101 at about £23.99, when the corner is not 90°.

Thickness and the claims that clash

The thickness lines disagree, so you read the bullet and then a review. NUTKIT's listing says wood under 3 mm. Xpert GKT03104's bullets say a 50 mm cut and wood up to 15 mm. Truly PVC repeats those figures as a shop specification, not a test of the unit amazon.co.uk dispatches. Wonkee Donkee's UK guide puts most shears on stock about 5–15 mm thick and about 50–75 mm wide. Nityunn's bullets say moulding up to 2.5 cm, while a review says the real depth is under 10 mm. Homebuilding treats hardwood, and about 20 mm, as the point where a saw is the honest tool. If the plastic creases, that listing was optimistic for your piece.
Knipex KNIPEX 94 35 215 mitre shears

Testsieger

Knipex KNIPEX 94 35 215 mitre shears
9.4/10about £66.60
View offer

Blades you can replace

A spare helps only if it belongs to that shear and the old blade will come out. O'Shine states SK5 at HRC52 and includes one spare. Knipex lists spare 94 19 215 as a separate part, and the amazon.co.uk box line is the shear alone. The maker's datasheet gives a 56 mm blade on a 215 mm tool, so the amazon cell that says 215 mm is the tool length, not the width of cut. Xpert GKT03104 does not list a spare. A UK review says changing the fitted blade needed a hammer and a drill bit, with no instructions in the box. GARTOL's bullets include two spare blades, and reviews still describe a blade that would not come out.

Which layout for which job

Match the layout to the piece. For flat PVC trim, rubber gasket, window bead, and thin trunking, UK reviews on the Xpert GKT03104 already name those jobs, and the bullets still stop at 45°. For soft plastic, rubber, soft timber, and ribbon cable at 45°, 60°, 75°, or 90°, the Knipex states those materials. O'Shine OS003 ties the Xpert's score at 90 and costs about £35.99, so it is the dearer of those two. Test the fence on a scrap, because reviews say it moves. If the anvil arrives bent, section 22 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you 30 days to reject goods that are not of satisfactory quality. That right covers a fault on arrival. It does not cover a blade you spoil by forcing hardwood.

Common questions

Can these shears cut PVC trunking, or only flat bead?
Thin PVC trunking is already in the UK reviews for the Xpert GKT03104, alongside gasket and window bead, when the profile seats and parts in one squeeze. A deeper section is a different job. Reviews on the Nityunn listing say that shear would not clear YT2 trunking. Flat bead is the safer starting assumption until a scrap of your own trunking cuts cleanly.
What thickness is actually safe when one bullet says 3 mm and another says 2.5 cm?
There is no single thickness across these twelve listings. NUTKIT states wood under 3 mm. Xpert GKT03104 states wood up to 15 mm and a 50 mm cut, and a UK trade page repeats those figures as a shop spec. Nityunn's bullets say moulding up to 2.5 cm, while a review on that listing says the depth is under 10 mm. Wonkee Donkee's general guide is about 5–15 mm. Treat each figure as a claim, then cut a scrap.
Will a Stanley blade fit the Xpert SK2?
Eurocell's page for the Xpert SK2, GKT03804, says the quick-change blade accepts Stanley utility blades. A UK review on amazon.co.uk listing B07CY1BMDZ says a Stanley blade does not fit. Those are opposing claims about the same model name, and this comparison did not fit a blade to decide between them. Buy the spare specified for the shear you hold, and check it against one utility blade before you rely on it for a whole room.
Why does the Knipex cost about £66.60 if it does not go to 135°?
The price, about £66.60, is for a named 45° try square with marks at 60°, 75°, and 90°, and for a score of 92 from 4.6 and 259 reviews. The maker's datasheet separates a 56 mm blade from the 215 mm tool. You are not paying for a 135° slider, because the listing does not include one. If you need 120° or 135°, that price still does not buy the range.
Is SK5 the same as stainless steel?
SK5 on these listings is the name used for a high-carbon blade. O'Shine adds a hardness figure of HRC52. Stainless is a different description. A bullet that writes SK5 stainless, as Zeromall's does, mixes the two. Neither phrase tells you the angle layout or how thick a piece the anvil will accept.

Related pages

Hand hedge trimmer comparison

Mitre shears

Best mitre shears UK: top pick and who should skip

How to use mitre shears for the first square corner

Mitre shears for skirting: thin bead and quarter round

Mitre shears vs a mitre box: when you keep the saw

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 23 October 2026.

  1. Homebuilding: angled cuts on moulding and trim (retrieved 23.10.2026)
  2. Wonkee Donkee: what mitre shears can cut (retrieved 23.10.2026)
  3. Wonkee Donkee: parts of mitre shears (retrieved 23.10.2026)
  4. Wonkee Donkee: what mitre shears are (retrieved 23.10.2026)
  5. DIY Doctor: angles (retrieved 23.10.2026)
  6. Knipex datasheet, 94 35 215 (retrieved 23.10.2026)
  7. HSE: PUWER overview (retrieved 23.10.2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 23.10.2026)